The forbidden door’s entrance to Stamford, Connecticut has been padlocked shut for decades. Since purchasing WCW and ECW in the early 2000s, WWE embraced its top dog status by presenting itself as the only show in town. Companies like Ring of Honor and New Japan Pro Wrestling existed and often birthed the careers of talent that would go on to be WWE superstars, but WWE neglected to ever acknowledge their existences. This was especially apparent with Total Nonstop Action, an alternative that quickly established itself as the No.2 wrestling company in the world but remained a great distance away from WWE’s throne.
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Regardless, TNA believed it could rival WWE and began to counter program the industry leader, moving weekly episodes of TNA iMPACT! to air simultaneously with WWE Monday Night Raw in 2010. This mini “Monday Night War” lasted just ten weeks, with WWE dominating every head-to-head, and doing so without ever mentioning TNA on its shows.
WWE has since eased up on its blinders to the world outside its sports-entertainment bubble and its dismissal of TNA specifically, even having the company’s then-women’s champion Mickie James compete in the Women’s Royal Rumble Match in 2022. Now, rumblings are hinting at that seemingly one-off crossover expanding into something much larger.
Are WWE and TNA Wrestling Working Together?
That does appear to be the question of the day.
In a new advertisement for TNA+, TNA Wrestling’s streaming service, it was revealed that TNA pay-per-views are now being called “premium live events.” That branding is most synonymous with WWE, as WWE pivoted from labeling its monthly specials away from pay-per-views and to premium live events in January 2022.
While this branding shift could just be TNA’s way of avoiding confusion for its specials’ costs, it is worth noting that the former Impact Wrestling is working with Endeavor Streaming to relaunch its streaming service. This is the same Endeavor that is the parent company of WWE.
Beyond that, WWE Chief Content Officer Paul “Triple H” Levesque is set to appear on WWE Preview Special 2024 this Thursday with an announcement, which fans are speculating could be related to a TNA crossover. That WWE Preview Special 2024 comes during a slate of shows WWE is referring to as “New Year’s Knockout Week.” TNA’s women’s division is called the “knockouts division.”
Stay tuned to ComicBook.com for updates on the potential WWE x TNA crossover.
